Sika deer | 台北市立動物園資訊網

Thesikadeer(Cervusnippon)alsoknownasthespotteddeerortheJapanese ...

Species of deer native to much of East Asia

The sika deer (Cervus nippon), also known as the Northern spotted deer or the Japanese deer, is a species of deer native to much of East Asia and introduced to other parts of the world. Previously found from northern Vietnam in the south to the Russian Far East in the north,[1] it was hunted to the brink of extinction in the 19th century. Protection laws were enacted in the mid-20th century, leading to a rapid recovery of their population from the 1950s to the 1980s.[2]

Its name comes from shika (鹿), the Japanese word for "deer". In Japan, the species is known as the nihonjika (ニホンジカ (日本鹿), "Japan deer"). In Chinese, it is known as 梅花鹿; méihuā​lù; plum blossom deer due to the spots resembling plum blossoms.

The sika deer is a member of the genus Cervus, a group of deer also known as the "true" deer, within the larger deer family, Cervidae. Formerly, sika were grouped together in this genus with nine other diverse ...